The University of Georgia Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, based at the College of Veterinary Medicine, played a key role in identifying the cause of the "unusual mortality event" for bottlenose dolphins announced ...

An unusually high number of bottlenose dolphins are dying off the U.S. East Coast this summer, the deadliest period for the sea mammals since a virus killed off more than 700 in the late 1980s, federal officials said Thursday.

New research by University of Otago scientists has shown that the Hector's dolphin, an endangered species found only in New Zealand, is more at risk from amateur fishing in Akaroa Harbour than had been thought.

Oil and gas companies working in the Gulf of Mexico have agreed not to use seismic surveys for the next 30 months in three areas considered critical to whales and along the coast during the calving season for bottlenose dolphins.

Dolphin

Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) (Maui's Dolphin), up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tonnes (9.8 LT; 11 ST) (the Orca or Killer Whale). They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. The family Delphinidae is the largest in the Cetacea, and relatively recent: dolphins evolved about ten million years ago, during the Miocene. Dolphins are considered to be amongst the most intelligent of animals and their often friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them popular in human culture.